


watch and learn

by bloodyhalefire



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Bets & Wagers, Beverly Katz is the Best, Fluff, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, Kinda, M/M, POV Beverly Katz, POV Outsider, Sassy Hannibal Lecter, Secret Relationship, Sharing Clothes, Will Graham Loves Hannibal Lecter, beverly and will are best friends and i'll die on that, yes will wears hannibal's red sweater
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27784747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodyhalefire/pseuds/bloodyhalefire
Summary: Jack squints. “There is something going on between you and Will.”Beverly raises an eyebrow at that; she will always give credit where credit is due, and she can’t help but be impressed by Jack’s no-bullshit approach.Completely unfazed, Dr. Lecter swipes an apple off of Jack’s desk, inspects it and takes a bite out of it like he has all the time in the world as he graciously lowers himself into a chair and crosses his legs. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”She flicks her eyes to Jack, who looks like he’s going to pop a vein with how hard he’s trying to keep himself from yelling; Alana looks annoyed.Beverly hides her smirk into her coffee and leans against the wall.
Relationships: Beverly Katz & Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham & Beverly Katz, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 24
Kudos: 501





	watch and learn

**Author's Note:**

> i genuinely have absolutely no idea what it is but i hope you enjoy !!
> 
> (also i included a new term of endearment: “mažasis” = little one) ,,,,i’m only the slightest bit ashamed abt it and if u find it cringe it's only used once so pls don't let it deter u

Beverly is walking briskly towards Jack’s office with a cup of the office’s poor excuse for coffee in one hand and the autopsy results of their latest victim in the other when she sees the impeccably dressed and out-of-place profile of Dr. Lecter walking down the hall. “Doctor Lecter,” she calls, jogging to catch up; she’s so curious about what he’s doing here that she barely notices when some of her coffee spills on her hand in her haste to catch up.

Lecter halts in his tracks before slowly turning around, and she can’t help but feel a little smug when his confused expression shifts to one of recognition. “Good morning, Miss Katz,” he says amicably.

“Good morning,” she responds once she catches her breath.

Dr. Lecter nods once before resuming his walk down the hall. Affronted, she blinks at the action, and it’s only once she realizes that he’s moving noticeably slower than before that she realizes it wasn’t a dismissal. She scurries to catch up, completely undeterred now that she realizes her presence isn’t unwelcome.

“What are you doing here so early?” she asks once their steps are matched. “Will isn’t here yet.”

Dr. Lecter glances at her out of the corner of his eye and hums, contemplative. “Though I must admit that would be preferable to the truth, I have not come for him,” he responds, and it doesn’t slip her notice that his expression is a bit disappointed at the admission. “Rather, I am here for Jack.”

She scrunches her eyebrows. “Your boss has requested my presence,” he elaborates in wake of her obvious confusion.

“Why?” she asks, curious; Beverly can’t help but find _everything_ about Lecter curious. 

He hums, obviously contemplating whether or not he should indulge her. Apparently he sees no harm in doing so because after a moment he says, “Uncle Jack is under the impression that Will and I are, shall I say, intimately involved. I can only presume he has summoned me so that he can give his two cents on the subject, unprompted as it may be.”

Beverly was not expecting that answer. At all. “Well are you?” she blurts out, because apparently her sense of self-preservation has decided to take a day off; she may not know a lot about the psychiatrist, but she _does_ know that he despises rudeness above all else.

He glances at her appraisingly, no doubt stunned at her boldness. Beverly is willing to bet that not many people have the guts to ask him such an audacious question. 

However, to her shock and relief, Lecter looks more amused than aggravated at her impertinence.

“What do you think, Miss Katz?” he responds.

And of-fucking- _course_ Dr. Lecter is the type of person to answer a question with a question.

Beverly stays silent for a minute as she thinks about how to go about answering, because she knows that she needs to be careful here; she knows for a fact that this is some kind of test.

She decides to play it safe by being vague. “You know what they say about assuming,” she says with a shrug.

“Yes, I do.” The expression on his face is appreciative and pleased. “It pains me to say that Jack is unaware of the saying.”

Beverly laughs, turning her towards him and smiles. “He wouldn’t know subtle even if it slapped him in the face.”

Dr. Lecter hums. “I must agree,” he responds with a nod. “However, in this instance he is correct.”

 _I knew it,_ she thinks. _I_ fucking _knew it._

“He _has_ seemed a bit happier lately. And looks a lot less tired, though that doesn’t say much,” she muses, and she holds eye contact when he glances over at her. “Even if my boss says otherwise, for what it’s worth, I think that you’re really good for him, Doctor Lecter.”

“I must admit that I find myself somewhat relieved to hear that,” he confesses, much to Beverly’s shock. “Though your overall say on the subject would have no effect on its continuation, you are still one of Will’s closest friends. He values your opinion, and by proxy I do as well.” Lecter pauses for a second before grimacing. “I cannot say the same about your boss. I put no real stock in his opinion, at least not in this regard.”

She must still look a bit dumbfounded because he decides to take pity and elaborate. “Though your tactfulness could certainly use some work, you are a fine person, Miss Katz. Will talks about you sometimes, and—“

“Does he really?” she says, cutting him off. He frowns at her disapprovingly and she winces. “Sorry.”

“He does, yes,” he eventually says once his disapproving gaze morphs back to his default blank stare. “I have also observed it myself. You care for him as more than just a tool for exploitation. And though I am aware of the fact that you asked him if he was unstable outright.” Beverly winces at his pointed tone. “You have also shown genuine concern regarding his well-being. Such a thing will not go unrewarded.”

Beverly decides to ignore the last sentence entirely, because she has absolutely no idea what the foreboding statement means and thus has no idea how to respond to it. She decides to go with, “I guess I really do need to work on my tact.”

Hannibal huffs, and if Beverly didn’t know better she would say he sounds amused. The conversation drops after that, and they walk the rest of the way in a silence that’s surprisingly not as awkward as she thought it would be. 

Once Jack’s office finally comes into view, she’s shocked to find herself disappointed; she doesn’t want the conversation to end. Beverly decides to throw caution to the wind: she’s taken a lot of risks during her conversation with Dr. Lecter, what’s one more? “Can I stay and watch the talk you guys have?” she asks, and when Lecter raises a questioning eyebrow she tacks on, “I’m willing to be that Jack will blow up at you at _least_ twice.”

“Personally, I believe the number will be higher,” he says furtively as they finally reach the door to Jack’s office. “As such, I raise five outbursts to your three.”

The statement is delivered in such an out-of-character fashion that Bev can’t help but snort. “I’m willing to take you up on that.”

Amusement flickers in Dr. Lecter’s eyes as he holds the door open for her. She nods her thanks. “However, I must request that you act oblivious,” he whispers in her ear. “It will be much more fun that way, I believe.”

“Gotcha,” she whispers back with an excited grin.

At the sound of the door opening Jack and Dr. Bloom look up. If the two of them are surprised at their joint arrival, they don’t show it. 

Beverly moves forward and places the file on his desk before walking to the back of the room. “We’ve got the finished report on last night's victim,” she says.

Jack nods absentmindedly in thanks, his gaze not straying from where Lecter is still standing by the door. “You’re dismissed. Alana and I need to have a discussion with Doctor Lecter.”

“Miss Katz is free to stay,” Lecter says, and the teasing smirk on his face is so small she knows for a fact that Jack and Dr. Bloom don’t notice it. “I presume the topic is not confidential?”

Jack glares warily. “Not technically, no.”

“Perfect,” he says. “Now please, enlighten me. To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?”

Jack squints. “There is something going on between you and Will.”

Beverly raises an eyebrow at that; she will always give credit where credit is due, and she can’t help but be impressed by Jack’s no-bullshit approach.

Completely unfazed, Dr. Lecter swipes an apple off of Jack’s desk, inspects it and takes a bite out of it like he has all the time in the world as he graciously lowers himself into a chair and crosses his legs. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”

She flicks her eyes to Jack, who looks like he’s going to pop a vein with how hard he’s trying to keep himself from yelling; Alana looks annoyed.

Beverly hides her smirk into her coffee and leans against the wall.

Apparently it becomes too much for Jack because he finally yells, “Like _hell_ you don’t know what I’m talking about!”

Beverly wishes she had a whiteboard so that she could add a tally under their “how many times will Jack Crawford yell at Hannibal Lecter” counter. 

“Miss Katz,” Dr. Lecter says genially as he turns toward her; she jerks minutely, not at all expecting him to call attention to her. “I don’t suppose _you_ have any knowledge as to what Jack is referring to?”

“I have absolutely no idea,” Beverly says with a small smile, and she can barely contain a laugh once she sees the disbelieving looks on Jack and Dr. Bloom’s faces. “I’m just as interested as you are.”

Jack eyes her suspiciously before turning his attention back to Lecter. “Don’t you dare play dumb with me, Doctor,” Jack bellows, throwing his hands up in frustration and shooting up from his chair; she mentally adds another tally to counter. He looks at Dr. Bloom. “Help me out here.”

“The closeness that the two of you have needs to be discussed either way. It’s just that,” she pauses as if unsure how to continue.

Jack sighs and decides to take the lead again. “You’re his psychiatrist, Doctor Lecter. The reason you even met Will in the first place is because I called you in for help on the cases. And then I recommended he see you.”

“Now _that_ I am aware of,” and the undertone of sass in his voice has her trying to hold back a smile, despite the fact that she herself didn’t know that. “However, it is incorrect generally. Though it is true that the two of us physically met in a professional setting, at no point was Will registered as a patient of mine. We simply had conversations, you see. 

“That's just a technicality,” Jack growls, and she scrunches her eyebrows a little, wondering if she should add a third tally; the almost imperceptible self-satisfied smirk on Dr. Lecter’s face makes her decide to count this as an outburst. “You’re his psychiatrist in everything but name!”

“Now please excuse my rudeness when I say this, Jack,” and the irony of the statement is not lost on her, “but as someone who has been to medical school, I feel qualified to say this: I think it would be best for you to sit down. That is to say, before you _fall_ down. Stress and anger are very detrimental to your blood pressure, you understand.”

Beverly chokes on air at that; she’s grateful her reaction was quiet enough that nobody notices; her boss looks on the verge of an aneurysm. 

Dr. Bloom must notice this, because she decides to finally speak up again. “Please don’t get the wrong impression, Hannibal. In no way are we trying to dissuade you,” she says, and the look in her eyes makes it obvious that she’s being completely genuine. “It’s just that—”

She never gets the chance to finish her sentence because all of a sudden Jack’s door opens to reveal Will, who stops dead in his tracks when he sees all of them. “Will,” Jack says, obviously caught off guard. “We weren’t expecting you at the office so early.”

Will doesn’t respond for a minute, too preoccupied scanning the room's occupants. He doesn’t look too surprised to see Dr. Bloom, but he _does_ do a double-take when his eyes land on Lecter. Beverly feels awe-struck when she realizes that the red sweater is definitely not his considering both the material and the fact that it’s at least one size too large; Will definitely raided Dr. Lecter’s closet. It’s arguably one of the cutest things she’s ever seen.

Once Will finally manages to look away from Dr. Lecter he shifts his gaze her way, and when he sees her he raises an eyebrow. She nods her head in acknowledgment, a wide smirk on her face. 

“What’s going on here?” he asks slowly, his brows knit together. 

Dr. Bloom opens her mouth to respond but Lecter speaks before she has the opportunity. “Nothing of consequence,” he says, and his tone is so convincing that she feels uneasy for a moment. “I was just reporting back to Jack and Alana about your psychiatric progression—socially, mentally, and otherwise.”

Beverly can’t hold back her laugh at the truth behind the white lie. She tries to disguise her laugh as a cough once everyone turns toward her.

“Are you quite alright, Miss Katz?” Lecter asks her, his tone deceptively genuine despite the amusement flickering in his eyes. 

“Fine, fine,” she says with a dismissive wave. “Don’t mind me. Continue, everyone.” 

Will looks at her warily before turning his attention back to Jack, his expression shifting to one of suspicion. “I didn’t know you still had him report to you.”

“Only sometimes,” Dr. Bloom hurries to explain. “And much less frequently. You hide how you feel so often, we just like to check in.”

Beverly is dumbfounded yet again by the two psychiatrists ability to lie yet still tell the truth while sounding so genuine. It’s almost as weird as it is funny. 

Will’s expression displays shock, confusion, offense, indignancy, and irritation in that order. “Maybe I don’t tell you because you _don’t ask,”_ Will says frustratedly. 

Jack clenches his jaw. “We _would,”_ he says defensively, “but—”

“Not that this isn’t fun,” she interrupts before things get too heated, shocking everyone into silence; it seems that they’ve forgotten her presence yet again, “but I’m going to go back to the lab.”

Lecter looks at Jack and pointedly says, “and, as I do have _my own_ profession to get back to, would you mind too terribly if I joined you, Miss Katz?”

“Oh, no, I don’t mind at all,” she responds with a grin, much to Jack, Dr. Bloom, and Will’s disbelief. “Lead the way.”

Dr. Lecter stands up and walks toward the door, where Will is still standing. “Come along now, Will. I’m sure that you, as well as Miss Katz and I, have your own job to go to,” he says as he places his hand on the small of Will’s back to guide him out the door; right before he steps out, he turns around and winks at Jack, who in turn looks like he’s about to pop a blood vessel from how badly he’s trying to hold back a scream.

As soon as the three of them are out of sight, Beverly turns to Dr. Lecter with a wide smile. “The final total was three if you must know. Though I will admit that there would’ve been a lot more if Will hadn’t shown up when he did.”

Lecter nods. “Even so, please remind me to never again gamble with you, Miss Katz.”

“Gotcha,” she says with a smirk.

Will blinks a few times before squinting at Dr. Lecter. “What’s really going on,” he asks suspiciously. “I know that you wouldn’t actually report to Jack about me. At least not anymore.”

“I’m afraid Uncle Jack has discovered the true depth of our relationship.” Will’s eyes widen. “He called me in so that he could discuss it with me.”

“It was very enjoyable,” she says with a smirk, “peak entertainment. Ten out of ten would recommend.”

Will finally looks at her for the first time since they left the office. At her words, he looks even more confused. “What were _you_ doing there?”

“Miss Katz and I ran into each other,” Lecter explains. “After realizing we were both headed for the same location, we decided to walk together.”

“He graciously decided to let me observe,” she says giddily. “We also made a bet, which I won.”

Will’s expression has been gradually becoming more and more exasperated since the two of them started explaining. “What was the bet,” he asks warily.

“Doctor Lecter and I acted completely oblivious when Jack asked about you two, and we placed bets on how many times Jack would scream at him,” she responds with a smile.

Will seems to finally understand the implications of her statement because his eyes widen a bit. “So you know about us?” he asks anxiously, almost like he’s worried about how she would react; the only reason Beverly doesn’t take offense to that is because she knows about Will’s anxiety.

Dr. Lecter seems to sense Will’s anxiety because he pulls him closer. “Don’t worry, mažasis,” he says, and the foreign word—which sounds suspiciously like an endearment—causes him to relax a bit. “There’s no problem.”

Even though Beverly doesn’t want to break the calm atmosphere surrounding the two, she feels the need to reassure Will herself. “Of course there’s no problem. Why would there be?” she says comfortingly. “Besides, the only opinion that matters is yours and Doctor Lecter’s. All that matters is your happiness, and you’ve never looked happier than you do when you’re with him. Besides, I’ll always support you, Will. You’re one of my closest friends.” 

Will’s eyes shoot up to hers at the last sentence, his expression shocked and his eyes shiny. Dr. Lecter looks at her with a small but grateful smile. She responds with one of her own.

After a moment Beverly looks down at her watch, only to realize she’s been gone for almost an hour. _Shit,_ she thinks. “Okay, I really gotta go,” she says hurriedly. “I’m really happy for you guys. Bye!” She quickly pivots around to run down the hall, but before she’s completely turned around she sees Dr. Lecter press a chaste kiss to Will’s head. 

Beverly can’t help the smile that breaks out on her face when she notices Will lean into the touch; she’s glad they have each other.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you _so_ much for reading!! i hope you all enjoyed this, and if you did i have other hannigram fics that you can find [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodyhalefire/pseuds/bloodyhalefire/works?fandom_id=801274) if you feel so inclined
> 
> [my tumblr](https://mysticdevils.tumblr.com/post/640935074647474176/every-time-i-try-to-link-my-tumblr-in-the-end)   
> 


End file.
